The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members.
Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information. ALA offers professional
services and publications to members and nonmembers, including online news stories from American Libraries and analysis of crucial issues
from the Washington Office.

ALA membership is open to any person or organization, though most of its members are libraries or librarians. The ALA is affiliated with
regional, state, and student chapters across the country. It organizes conferences, participates in library standards development, and
publishes a number of books and periodicals. The ALA annually confers numerous notable book and media awards, including the Caldecott Medal,
the Dartmouth Medal, the Newbery Medal, the Michael L. Printz Award and the Stonewall Book Award.

Congress established the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in 1977. The center’s purpose was to use the resources and
prestige of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books and reading. Through the years the center’s mission has expanded
to include literacy and library promotion and encouraging the historical study of books, reading, and the printed word. The center’s audience
always has included readers and potential readers of all ages. The center also has developed a broad, informal network of organizations--national
and international--that promote books and reading; the network includes several centers for the study of the history of the book located in
academic or research organizations. On the international side, the center also has inspired the creation of reading promotion centers in several
countries, most recently South Africa and Russia. The Center for the Book is a partnership between the government and the private sector.

The center’s Web site is a unique resource directory with links to more than 250 organizations that promote books, reading, literacy, and
libraries. The site includes information about forthcoming Center for the Book events, webcasts of past events, and a list of the center’s publications.

The National Council for Humanities are the advising chairmen to The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which is an independent
federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (Pub.L. 89-209) dedicated
to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

NEH is the largest funder of humanities programs in the United States. The endowment accomplishes this mission by providing grants for
high-quality humanities projects in four funding areas: preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education, research, and public
programs.

NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio
stations, and to individual scholars.

Founded in 1921, National Council for the Social Studies has grown to be the largest association in the country devoted solely to social studies
education. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary,
secondary, and college teachers of history, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education.
In essence, social studies promotes knowledge of and involvement in civic affairs. And because civic issues--such as health care, crime, and foreign
policy--are multidisciplinary in nature, understanding these issues and developing resolutions to them requires multidisciplinary education. These
characteristics are the key defining aspects of social studies. Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills,
and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy. The mission of National Council for the Social
Studies is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators.

The stated mission of the National Education Association is "to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to
fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world” as well as concerning itself with
the wage and working condition issues common to other labor unions.

The NEA is a volunteer-based organization that relies upon its members to perform much of the Association's work. In turn, the members are supported
by a network of staff at the local, state, and national levels. The stated goal of NEA's work is encapsulated in its tagline: "building great public
schools for every child.”

At the local level, affiliates perform a variety of activities (as determined by the local members), which may range from raising funds for
scholarship programs to conducting professional workshops on issues that affect faculty and school support staff to bargaining contracts for school
district employees.

Founded in 1969, NIEA is the largest and oldest Indian education organization in the nation and strives to keep Indian Country moving toward educational
equity. This is a membership-based organization where the members make sure that the government maintains its trust responsibilities to the Native people of
the U.S.

Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) shares Native stories with the world through the creation, promotion and distribution of Native
media for public broadcast. Other NAPT products include AIROS.org and VisionMaker Video, a distributor of many documentaries by and about Native
Americans seen on PBS.

Native Public Media (NPM), is distinguished by its commitment to Native American Tribes and Native community voices, promoting open discourse and
public service. This is an important time to bring the Native American voice to Washington and to key stakeholders to ensure that new and evolving
policies take into account the national need for Native-owned noncommercial community media to promote civic participation and an engaged democracy.
In addition to being platforms for public debate and discourse, Native media are lifelines that communicate vital information about public safety, health,
community events, and help preserve culture and language, and build community.

To that end, NPM expands the Native voice through policy reform and expansion of Native owned media, to give voice to the Native communities it
serves. NPM promotes healthy, engaged, independent Native communities by strengthening and expanding Native American media capacity and by empowering
a strong, proud Native American voice.

The Public Library Association (PLA), with more than 11,000 members, is one of the fastest growing divisions of the American Library Association (ALA),
the oldest and largest library association in the world. PLA’s core purpose is to strengthen public libraries and their contribution to the communities
they serve.

Founded in 1944, PLA is a member-driven organization that exists to provide a diverse program of communication, publication, advocacy, continuing
education, and programming for its members and others interested in the advancement of public library service. PLA strives to provide visionary leadership
and is dedicated to lifelong learning. PLA focuses on and is responsive to member needs, as well as being committed to a free and open exchange of
information and active collaboration. PLA is proud to respect diversity of opinion and community needs while being committed to excellence and innovation.

American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) was founded in 1972 by the presidents of the nation’s first six tribal colleges as an informal
collaboration among member colleges. Through AIHEC, tribal colleges nurtured a common vision and learned to see themselves as a national movement. Their
work—research, advocacy and lobbying—was done through volunteerism and came almost exclusively from the presidents, community members, and other tribal
and local leaders. Today, AIHEC has grown to represent 36 colleges in the United States and one Canadian institution and is the lifeline of these tribal
colleges.

AIHEC’s mission is to support the work of the tribal colleges and universities and the national movement for tribal self-determination. AIHEC’s mission
statement, adopted in 1973, identifies four objectives: maintain commonly held standards of quality in American Indian education; support the development
of new tribally controlled colleges; promote and assist in the development of legislation to support American Indian higher education; and encourage
greater participation by American Indians in the development of higher education policy.